Ranked #4408

.hack//XXXX (Manga)

It's a very lighthearted version of the dot hack games. Cute, and comical, not to mention Cubia being a human character makes this a good read. Even though it's based off of the games, there are alot of differences that amused me. And of course, Kite looks simply adorable in the manga. (I wish his personality was more like his game personality and not like Shugos though :/)

You actually get to see Helba with her mask/helmet/hat thingie off and at the end of volume two, you get to see the characters of Kite, Orca, and Balmung in real life (doesn't show their eyes, but still...)

Even though it's a lighthearted take on the game, there have been parts in it that made me cry (the whole Cubia thing made me cry like a dog) So its not just fun and games... well... it IS a game, but you know what I mean.

Check it out if you are a dot hack junkie (if it's your first .hack media, I'd suggest watching .hack//sign and reading the novel .hack//A.I. buster to get a feel of The Worlds autonomy. read more

First thing I need to say; I have not played all of the original games, in fact I only played the first one, but I do understand the gist of the full story from the games. With that out of the way, here's my review.

STORY: .Hack//XXXX, I'll start with the title. Honnestly I thought this was a hentai when I read the title. But each X represents one of the games, with four in total and I heard its pronounced .Hack//4X. But whatever.
.Hack//XXXX condenses the story of the 4 games of the PS2 series into... 10 chapters? Whoa, the result ending up skipping and speeding through the story with keeping only imporant events highlighted, or alot of it redone. But this story is trying to create it's place with the inclusion of manga only character (Not really), Cubia.
While Cubia is an important character in the manga, many who had played the games first will feel that his presense is unnecessary (As a NC character). And really this manga is truthfully for people who have played the games, and is basicly another way to revisit the story and the characters.
But it is still somewhat enjoyable for those who have not played the games. And the characters feel a bit more livelier than what they were in the game and the relationship between Kite (The main protagionst) and Cubia is very interesting.

ARTWORK: Actually the artwork is pretty good and has alot of style. The battles are draw well, some characters (Like Black Rose) looks better than what they looked like in the game, and the color art looks very good. However, there is alot of simple drawings and sometimes they look like doodles.

OVERALL: It's a quick read, and alot of fans will be disappointed, but the art looks nice and the story isn't just a straight up copy from the games, but fans of the games are the ones will enjoy it the most. read more